Azure Ray Dota 2 Team Penalized for Exploiting Bug at Bali Major
Lu “Somnus” Yao and his Dota 2 team, Azure Ray, have become the center of controversy for allegedly abusing a bug during their recent series against nouns at the Bali Major.
Valve Penalizes Azure Ray for Exploiting Watcher Bug
Following an admin investigation, it was revealed today that Azure Ray was found guilty of exploiting the Watcher bug. As a result, Valve decided to impose penalties on any team that abused the bug.
The bug was brought to Valve’s attention on July 2. Although it was used earlier in the Bali Major, Valve determined that further exploitation of the bug would lead to consequences. Bleed Esports, 9Pandas, PSG.LGD, Quest Esports, nouns, Azure Ray, Gaimin Gladiators, and BetBoom Team were all notified about the situation.
Related: Unconventional Dota 2 Item Choices Help BetBoom Shine at Bali Major
These eight teams were instructed to refrain from using the Watcher exploit, but Azure Ray apparently missed the memo and used the bug against nouns. As a result, Azure Ray’s win in game two against nouns was nullified, and the series ended in a tie.
The Watcher bug allows teams to check whether they are being observed by simply pinging on their location. This method works even when the Watchers are concealed by the fog. While it may seem insignificant, the bug provides additional information that reveals the potential positioning of enemy players.
As a consequence of the penalty, Azure Ray had to participate in a tiebreaker against Bleed Esports. The winner of this tiebreaker series will advance to the playoff stage through the lower bracket, while the loser will be eliminated early from the Bali Major.
Update: IO Esports and Epulze conducted further research regarding the matter and found that the evidence used against Azure Ray was inconclusive.